Master Frame 700 Convert to External Radiator Rig

Another impulse buy has led me down a small rabbit hole as I prepare my setup for a 5090 waterblock.

Scrolling through FB and came across this for $40. The protective film is still on the glass.



The Coolermaster Masterframe 700 (mouthful) is a pretty cool case in its own right with a couple of different config options. For the footprint it takes up it's kind of missing the mark only having 2x360 radiator support so I wouldn't use it in that manner personally.

What I am playing with though is turning it into a poor man's mora, a stand alone external watercooling station. Because it's a full chassis I will mount a psu and corsair commander fan controller that can save profiles and operate without a pc connection and all I will need to run to the pc is 2 tubes to the blocks.

2 main layout options I can go with. I am leaning towards 1 for not obstructing the front of any fans, and I think 1440mm of radiator in free air is probably enough (+whatever I leave in the main case).

Option 1 (ignore redundant res on the right rad - forgot to remove it)


Option 2


As for the fans mounted to the main motherboard tray, I could cut the tray up for air passage but I am sure using some standoffs and having ~25mm of space behind the rads is fine. There are still holes there and air can freely exit in all directions given the whole thing is open air. Plus is then it can easily be reverted to a regular case with just a few extra mounting holes if ever needed.

Hoping to put the whole thing together under or as close to $500 as possible (not including parts I already have).

Parts List:
3x360mm radiator - Need
12x120mm fan - Need
Various Fittings and tubing - Partially have
1xpump/res - Have
Corsair commander - Have
PSU - Have

Anybody have any thoughts or think there is anything I'm not considering before I get started?

 

Interesting project and concept, specially for those of us with Mora envy!
My only contribution is to consider a double Pump setup as it looks like a lot of pressure/flow drop through all the rads and fittings to make it work. Maybe ensure you have a flow meter in the loop somewhere and check how it performs I guess?
Given how much rad area you have, I'd expect your fans to only need to spin at their minimum most of the time, so the stand-offs from the mobo mounting location should be fine for airflow behind the rads.

 

Thanks for your input Wacko02

Yep I agree on the 2 pumps, it wasn't very clear in my OP but I also have a loop in the main case with its own D5 (+flow meter). Low RPM fans will be the goal!

 

Option 2 you mad bastard, I love it. Nothing to add really, plan sounds good. I also agree with the dual pumps for once - I'd still plumb it with one initially and see what the flow rate was like, but have the second ready to go.

If you're going to dual pump, I'd probably consider opposing duties for them just purely due to flowpath length - one at outlet 'pushing', and one at inlet 'pulling'. Should arrive at net zero head anyway once the loop is closed

 

I have a spare DDC pump/res combo that's sat in my drawers for a while, I should probably make sure it works first . My plan is to run the D5 in the case through a dual 360 system, out to the external setup where it meets the ddc pump to push it through the rads and return. That way if I do need to disconnect the loop can still function.

2,520mm of radiator should just do the job

 

You sir, are a fucking lunatic but you're our lunatic so that's OK.

 

I hate you.

This is a great idea. Definitely option 1. Definitely use standoffs vs cutting the case.

Mount a giant screen behind the glass to display Hwinfo stats, water temp, fps etc.

EDIT: Or, mini projector to display those stats ON the glass.

 

Ceiling mounted projector to display them on a big screen.

 

Just waiting on parts now to flow in over the next week or so. All waiting for the GPU block which is still a few weeks away anyway I think.

Ballparked my drilling but it worked out alright enough for something I don't need to stare at. Went with option 1, one more rad put it over my intended budget and I think we're already well past the point of diminishing returns here (See I can exercise restraint ). 2 more rads to come for the wings.





1300w PSU to power a pump and some fans. I think I got this in some fb bundle ages ago and don't trust it to power up an actual rig.



I love SFF builds

 

Much like Ozzy Osborne, you really should be accused of corruption of the young. I've been trawling through sites this weekend thinking about a custom loop for my 5800X3D and 3080 for no reason other than looking for something to do now that I've finished my degree.

 

*cough* *cough*

 

I love that you have the full 1300W PSU for a total of 30W pump!

 

Oi there's 15W of fans too mate, fair go

 

You should stick an Enheim 1250 where the PSU goes. I’m not even joking.

 

They're too expensive now, they've re-badged the models and doubled the price.

I've got one of these on the fish tank. It's 24V which is a bit more work to run off the PSU, but it's doable, and the pump is ridiculous. You wouldn't need two pumps this way
Controller is awesome, too. Well-built and pretty quiet for a 50W pump - I usually run it about 60%.

 

I like the big boy pump idea but I'll try these 2 that I already have on hand before spending any more. As juzz86 linked to I am getting quite close to small mora money which would be a far more elegant setup

 

Holy overkill batman! thats a serious pump even compared to 2 D5's. Whats it like noise / vibration wise?

 

I still have my OG in near perfect conditions... make me wonder if I should build it into my MO-RA 420 setup. Hmm.

 

For a fish tank on 24mm ID in/out hoses, it's great - controllable, so you can dial it in to whatever noise signature you're happy with/your cabinet wil isolate. It'll also do crude waveforms - you can start/stop to simulate wave movement in a tank. Vibration-wise I isolate them in the cabinet anyway - they sit in foam cells off the floor/walls. It's quieter than the hum of the air pump.
With G1/4" fittings on it constricting the intake, I imagine it would howl/cavitate a bit until the loop was airless. I think the only way I'd be comfortable running it in a loop would be to downsize it and go a size or two smaller, or provide it a 25mm feed from a decent reservoir, so it wasn't starved all the time. Jebao do some similar smaller ones down to about 2500L/h. Fluval also do some smaller models, but they're $$ and lack the control logic.

You should. I solidly regret getting rid of mine, it was an AquaComputer one too so had all the bells and whistles. Sigh

 

Well it looks about as you would expect. Will do a test fill and flush soon then it's back to waiting for more parts.